June 29, 2017 - Expansion work on Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is expected to be finished just in time for the 30th Ordinary Summit of the African Union starting January 2018, reports Xinhua.

Fully funded by China's Exim Bank, the 345-million-U.S.-dollar airport expansion project will increase its annual passenger handling capacity from the current 7 million to 22 million.

The project lying on 74,000 square meters is being constructed by China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC).

CCCC is also building an industrial park dedicated to producing construction materials 140 kms east of Addis Ababa and another one dedicated to textile and apparel sectors in Mekelle city, capital of Tigray regional state.

It is also constructing the 220-km Woldiya-Mekelle electrified rail project.

"Ethiopia aims to become a tourist destination and a favored destination for conferences but the current airport's capacity is overstretched, hosting sometimes 9 million passengers annually," said Hailu Lemu, Chief Engineer of Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE).

"Once the airport expansion project completed, I expect Addis Ababa Bole international Airport to be one of the busiest if not the busiest international airport in Africa," he stated

Source: Xinhua